Rodrigo Navia

Universidad San Sebastian, chile

Abstract Title: Valorization of low-cost carbon sources for the Production of Biopolymers Using Paraburkholderia xenovorans LB400

Biography:

Rodrigo Navia is Chemical Engineer from Technical University Federico Santa María, Valparaíso, Chile and Ph.D. in Mining Sciences from University of Leoben, Austria. His research is related to waste to energy and resource technology, biomaterials and biorefinery processes. He is associate editor of Waste Management & Research and executive editor of Journal of Biobased Materials and Bioenergy. He worked five years in Tresmontes Lucchetti, a Chilean relevant food company. He has published more than 100 papers in reputed journals, and he is currently full professor and dean of the faculty of engineering at Universidad San Sebastián in Santiago, Chile.

Research Interest:

There is a need to replace conventional plastics with sustainable and cost-effective biopolymers, motivating circular economy indifferent industrial applications. This study investigates the production and characterization of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) synthesized by Paraburkholderia xenovorans LB400 using low-cost carbon sources, selected as alternative to pure carbon substrates, that often limit the economic feasibility of PHAs production. Culture media were supplemented with orange peel (OP), cochayuyo (Durvillaea antarctica; DA), avocado peel (AP) and coffee spent grounds (CSG). Glucose (Glu) was used as the reference substrate and ammonium chloride was used as a limiting nitrogen source to promote PHAs production. Biomass and PHAs yields obtained were 0.7 g L⁻¹ from AP (31.8% PHAs), 2.6 g L⁻¹ from DA (46.2% PHAs), 1.7 g L⁻¹ from CSG (52.9% PHAs), and 3.98 g L⁻¹ (36.2% PHAs) from OP. The characterization by FTIR exhibited the characteristic carbonyl stretching bands at 1720 cm-1 and C-O stretching at 1278 cm-1. SEM-EDS analysis showed a smooth, non-porous surface morphology of PHAs from Glu, DA and OP. High elemental carbon-to-oxygen ratios were also observed in all PHAs. The thermal analysis does not register residual solvent and indicates two-step degradation profiles with 50% mass decomposition at temperature around 304°C suggesting high thermal stability. Results confirmed the structural integrity of the extracted biopolymers. Overall, these findings demonstrate that Paraburkholderia xenovorans LB400 can produce PHAs with suitable properties from low-cost alternative carbon sources, reinforcing their potential for sustainable, cost-effective biomaterials for industrial or biomedical applications.